Bad dreams
by Storyfairy10
Summary: While Malvaron and Doug are out for the week, the mysticons have the same bad dream and are determined to figure out what it means, and whether or not it will become reality.
1. Bad dreams

**I'll try to update quickly, but I'm busy with school and extracurricular activities, so the update may be later.**

Arkayna opened the fridge and grabbed the jug of milk on the door. Ever since she stopped going to her parents' room when she had a nightmare, milk was the only thing that calmed her down. And she definitely had a nightmare.

She had just finished pouring a glass of milk and sat down at the kitchen table when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, which made her jump. "W…who's there?"

"Relax, Princess," a familiar voice from up the stairs asked. "It's just us." A few seconds later, Zarya and Piper came down the stairs. Zarya had a troubled expression, as though she was trying to hide being afraid but failing, and Piper's green eyes shone with fear as she held the plush griffin they gave Piper for her birthday.

"What's wrong?" Arkayna asked.

"We had a nightmare," Piper said.

Arkayna raised an eyebrow "What do you mean by 'we'?"

"I just woke up from a nightmare when Piper came to my room, saying she had one to," Zarya said.

"Freaky," Arkayna asked. "This whole mysticon thing must be getting to all of us."

"What do you mean?" Piper asked, sitting at the table with Arkayna.

"I had a bad dream to," Arkayna admitted.

"You to?" Piper asked a little loudly.

"Yes," Arkayna said. "But keep your voice down. Em's still sleeping."

As if on cue, Emerald came into the kitchen. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Zarya said as she leaned against the wall. "Just happened to be 'National Nightmare Day', that's all."

"You all had bad dreams to?" Emerald asked.

"Wait a second," Arkayna said. "You're not saying that you had one, are you?"

"Yeah," Emerald said. "I was actually trying to fall back to sleep after it when I heard Piper up." She yawned. "Not that I probably could anyway, with how creepy my dream was."

"Freaky," Zarya said.

"And I thought that freakiest thing that would happen tonight was seeing people at magi mall being sick with a mysterious illness in my dream," Piper said.

Everyone else's eyes widened as Zarya looked at Piper. "Was there some strange black fog making everyone sick?" Zarya asked.

"No way!" Piper said. "You had that dream to?"

Zarya nodded. "Yeah." She stopped leaning on the wall and went closer to the table.

"I can't believe it," Emerald said. "Please don't tell me that there was a mysterious figure laughing in your dreams."

"There was," Zarya said.

"I decided to call him Freaky Guy," Piper said.

"And did we try to go into our mysticon forms, but couldn't?" Arkayna asked.

"Yeah," Emerald said. "At least in my dream."

"Mine to," Zarya said.

Piper said nothing, but nodded as she tightly gripped her stuffed toy.

There was a moment of silence as everyone processed the conversation. "By the hammer of Harmon," Emerald said at last.

"This can't be a coincidence," Arkayna said.

"But what else could it be?" Piper said. "We didn't get psychic powers when we became mysticons, did we?"

"If so, it came a little late," Zarya said.

"Not to mention that if we did see the future, then it will actually happen," Arkayna said.

"Do you think we should call Malvaron and Doug?" Emerald asked. "Maybe they have an idea of what's going on."

"They'd come here straight from their guy's week, and they were looking forward to it for a month," Zarya said. "Whatever it is, we can deal with it without them."

Arkayna thought for a moment. "They still might have some information. I'll call Malvaron later, when it wouldn't be weird for us to call, but try to act casual."

"Sounds like a plan," Zarya said.

"But what do we do in the meantime?" Emerald asked. "That nightmare had to mean something, didn't it?"

"I'm sure it does," Arkayna said. She stood up. "But it's late, and we'll all be able to think clearer once we get some more sleep."

"But what if the bad dream comes again?" Piper asked.

Zarya put a hand on Piper's shoulder. "Don't worry, Pipes. You can sleep in my room if you want."

"Besides," Emerald said, forcing a smile. "Even though that dream may mean something, it can't hurt us right now."

"Why don't we have a sleepover in the living room?" Arkayna said. "It might be fun."

"You just don't want to be alone after this," Zarya said, smirking.

"Like you're not freaked out by this to," Arkayna said.

"A sleepover sounds good to me," Emerald said. She looked at Piper. "Let's get the living room ready."

"O.K.," Piper said.

With that, Emerald and Piper went up the stairs to grab some blankets for the living room. When they were gone, Zarya and Arkayna looked at each other.

"This is just another mission," Zarya said.

"I hope you're right," Arkayna said.

Arkayna was about to leave when she heard Zarya quietly say, "Me, to."

With that, Arkayna stopped and turned around. "Let's get our blankets. I'm sure we'll both feel better with the others right beside us."


	2. The plan

**Note (Containing spoilers for episode 14). The idea that the acromancers dislike the mysticons is hinted at the end of the episode "the Dome", as well as the summary for episode 16. This takes place after episode 14.**

Everyone sat on the couch nervously, looking at Arkayna. They had just finished breakfast, and they decided that it was time to call Malvaron. Even though no one said it, they knew that whatever Malvaron said would impact the mission.

They were so worried, that they practically had to force themselves to eat breakfast. They were all still in their pyjamas, and the blankets and pillows from the sleepover in the living room were still there.

"Remember, play it cool," Piper said.

Arkayna nodded before calling Malvaron, making sure that her phone was on speaker. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest before Malvaron answered.

"Arkayna?" Malvaron asked. "Is everything O.K.?"

"Everything's fine," Arkayna said. "But just wondering, have their ever been a case where mysticons get the ability to see the future?"

There was a pause. "Not that I know of," Malvaron said. "Why?"

"We watched a movie where someone got psychic powers last night, and while talking about what it would be like if we got psychic powers, we got in a debate if it would be possible for us to get psychic powers," Arkayna said.

"You four are mysticons, and you all somehow got along," Malvaron said. "I wouldn't count anything as impossible."

"So you're saying it would be possible for us to see something from the future, or for us to say, have the same dream?" Arkayna asked.

"Maybe," Malvaron said. "Wait, what do you mean 'have the same dream'?" "Are you sure everything's fine?"

"Yeah," Arkayna said. "Just wanted to settle the debate about the movie."

"And about the same dreams?" Malvaron asked.

"That was part of the movie to," Arkayna said. "Thanks for the info. Bye!"

"Bye, I guess," Malvaron said.

Arkayna hung up and looked at the others. They were all hoping for an answer, but Malvaron didn't seem to have an idea.

"Well, where do we go from here?" Zarya asked.

"We could talk about the dream," Emerald said. "Maybe that will help clear things up."

"I hope so," Piper said.

"O.K.," Arkayna said. "Does anyone know who the person laughing is?"

"He sounded like a male," Piper said. "But that's all I know."

"I bet he's the one who caused the black fog," Zarya said. "He was wearing a mask and had an oxygen tank, so he probably knew about the fog."

"As if he planned it," Emerald said.

"Well, we have a potential suspect," Arkayna said.

"Should we see if we can find that person?" Emerald asked.

"We don't know when our dream will happen, or even if it is the future," Arkayna said.

"What else could it be?" Piper asked. "Someone figuring out how to mess with our dreams to scare us?"

Arkayna thought for a moment. "I doubt anyone who'd have the power to do that decides to use it just to scare us. Still, I suppose it's possible."

"Piper might be on to something," Zarya said. "If someone knew how to send messages like that, it could be someone taunting us by showing the plan to poison Drake City."

"It could also be someone trying to warn us, so we can stop it," Emerald said.

"I know one thing," Piper said. "Freaky Guy probably isn't warning us, so if it is a warning, then someone else sent it."

"If it's a warning, it probably isn't someone we know," Arkayna said. "Or at least, it can't be someone who knows we're mysticons. If it was, then they'd just tell us."

"So, we have something that could be the future, or a warning," Emerald said. "And we have a creepy guy laughing at the fog."

"This is going nowhere," Zarya said. "None of us knows who the person is, or what the black fog actually does."

"I have to agree with Zarya," Emerald said. "We have lots of ideas on what it could be, but no actual answers."

"I wish we knew if the dragon disk could give us visions," Piper said.

"You're a genius!" Arkayna said. "We were so busy thinking about the dream itself, but if we figure out what the dream was, then we would have some idea on how to stop it!"

"So, off to the astromancers?" Zarya said.

"They'll never agree to help us," Emerald said. "We did disobey them twice."

"I agree with Em," Arkayna said. "We'll have to find the answers ourselves."

"Wait!" Piper said. "I just remembered something! Freaky Guy told us that the attack we saw wasn't his first one."

"That's right!" Emerald said. "I forgot all about that."

"So we know for sure that the first place this will happen isn't the magi mall," Arkayna said. "So we should look other places the masked person might try."

"I say we start looking," Zarya said. "I don't want to be reading about the dragon disk when that guy makes his first move."

"We need to find more information," Arkayna said.

"Why don't we split up?" Piper suggested. "That way, we can do different things at the same time?"

"That could work," Emerald said. "That way, we can have people looking for potential targets and learning more about the dragon disk?"

"That could work," Arkayna said. "I'll look more into the dragon disk to see if it could have played a role."

"I can look around town," Piper said.

"Would you mind if I checked Rudick's Hollow?" Emerald asked.

"Sure," Arkayna said. She knew that the dream freaked all of them out, and Emerald would probably want to check on her family.

"I'll ask if anyone noticed anything strange going on," Zarya said. "I can start with the Sky Pirates. They may have noticed something."

"Sounds like a plan," Arkayna said. "Though you guys should stay out of your mysticon forms and act casual. If whoever made the fog notices us investigating, he may decide to speed up his plan."

"O.K.," Piper said.

With that, everyone left on their own missions. Emerald noticed that Piper seemed nervous.

"What is it?" Emerald asked.

"It's just that we've never all split up like this before," Piper said. "What if something bad happens?"

"It'll be O.K.," Emerald said. "If something happens, we can call each other for help."

That seemed to reassure Piper as she happily started for the Undercity. Emerald sighed. Piper did bring up a good point. There were times when one of them was alone on a mission and ended up in danger. Now that all of them were separated from each other, would the others get there in time if something bad happened?


	3. Piper's search

**Note: The part I put about the Dragon Disk is something I made up for the story. I apologize in advance if something in later episodes proves this to be wrong.**

Piper looked around the town, hoping to see something that would help them uncover the mystery of the bad dreams. It wasn't just that she was tired of walking aimlessly around the city, even though that was true. She wanted the bad dreams to end, and didn't want the black fog to happen.

With each minute that passed, she began to feel more restless. Everything seemed so normal.

"This is pointless," Piper muttered to herself. She was tempted to go to the undercity. After all, that would be a change of scenery at the very least, and Freaky Guy could decide to start there. In fact, it may work out better to go to the undercity. The main part of town was close to the magi mall, and if the magi mall wasn't the first target but would eventually be a target, she didn't think that Freaky Guy would attack the town.

As soon started heading to the undercity, she noticed a slushy stand and stopped. She wanted to learn more about the bad dream, but she had was sure that she had time to stop for a slushy. Besides, Arkayna did tell them to act casual to avoid drawing the attention of whoever created the black fog, and who would suspect that a young elf with a slushy was investigating something?

She walked up to the counter. "One Fuzzberry slushy please," Piper said.

As soon as she received the slushy, she felt like someone was watching her. She quickly turned around, everyone she saw seemed too busy with their own lives to even notice Piper.

She took a deep breath as she continued towards the undercity, the strange feeling following her with every step she took. She was tempted to call the others for help, but resisted the urge. There was no actual sign that someone was following her, and she didn't want to ruin the plan just because of her imagination.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Piper told herself.

One more bad feeling made Piper feel as though she had to turn around. She was glad that she did, because she saw someone hide into a nearby alley as soon as she did.

"Don't be silly," Piper said. "Who'd follow a young elf around anyway?" She hoped that pretending to think she was safe would make the person stay where he or she was instead of trying to find a new hiding place.

She walked as quietly as she could to the alley, her heart pounding with every step. She wanted to call the others, especially since she was certain that she was being followed, but she knew that if she did, the stalker would realize not only that Piper was onto her, but also that she was in contact with other people. And if the stalker was there because of the black fog, then the stalker might realize that she was calling the other mysticons. Of course, that was impossible. No one who knew that she was a mysticon would stalk her like that.

Piper looked into the alley, and her heart stopped as she got a better look at the stalker. It was Freaky Guy.

Freaky Guy just smiled as he continued running in the alley. Taking a deep breath, Piper followed him.

He was fast, Piper noted. She wanted to call the others to let them know what was happening, but was afraid of any distraction ruining her chances of catching Freaky Guy.

She didn't know how long she was chasing Freaky Guy for, but before she knew it, he ran into the abandoned magic store.

Piper stopped. Was he just going to cut through the building, or was there something more to his plan? And if she called the others, would Freaky Guy hear her?

She pulled out a phone and sent a glyph to the others. _Found Freaky Guy in abandoned magic store in town. I'll call in 15 minutes. I don't want him to hear the phone, so please don't call right away._

Confident that the others would know where to look for her, she put her phone away and went into the abandoned building.

"Hello?" Piper said.

The mask man appeared in the hallway. "I was wondering when you'd finally come in. What took you so long?"

"My mom told me not to go into abandoned buildings," Piper said, hoping that acting like an ordinary elf would put Freaky Guy off his guard. "I was scared."

"Really?" Freaky Guy said. "I didn't think you'd be scared so easily, Mysticon Striker."

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Arkayna was doing research in the stronghold, the television turned on just in case news came about the black fog. She was about to give up when read one part in the book about the dragon disk.

 _In the past, people were trained_ _to contact the mysticons when help was needed by mentally connecting with the Dragon Disk and sending a message to the mysticons. However, only certain people possessed the genes necessary to do so, and it is unclear how many people, if any, has the gene currently._

"No way!" Arkayna said. "I have to tell the others." Before she could, she heard her glyph tone go off.

"I hope it's good news," Arkayna said as she grabbed her phone. Her eyes widened as she read the message.

"Piper," Arkayna said.

She immediately texted Emerald and Zarya, _I'll check on Piper. Don't do something dangerous without backup._ With that, she put her phone in her pocket and raced out the door.


	4. Rudick's Hollow

As soon as Emerald arrived at Rudick's hollow, she knew where she was going. She had to check on her family.

Of course, that would be difficult. She would want to know if they noticed anything, but only her dad knew that she was a mysticon. If she asked anyone else about the strange fog, they would begin to ask questions.

She arrived at the house and saw her dad, Malachite, working on a cart in the front yard of the house.

"Hi, Dad," Emerald said as soon as Topaz landed.

"Emerald," Malachite said.

They hugged, and Emerald smiled. Even though she knew they became close again, it was nice to be greeted like that by her dad.

"How long are you staying?" Malachite said.

"Not too long," Emerald said. "Are Mom, Halite, or Ferris home?"

"No," Malachite said. "Your mom's running some errands, and Halite and Ferris are at a friend's house. If you want, I can ask them to come home."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something," Emerald said. "It's about the mysticons."

"What's going on?" Malachite said. "Is everyone O.K.?"

"Yeah," Emerald said. "But last night, we all had the same dream. We think it's connected to us being mysticons."

"Really?" Malachite said.

"It was about this black fog making people sick, and there was a strange masked man laughing while watching it happen," Emerald said. "I was wondering if you've seen anything strange."

Malachite thought for a moment. "Can't say I have."

"That's O.K," Emerald said. She noticed the cart Malachite was working on. "What's that?"

"A specialized cart that can leave the mine on its own once it's filled, making it possible to save the time it takes to move the carts ourselves," Malachite said. "It can be either controlled while someone is inside the cart to help if a miner is injured, or can memorize the path it took and to find its way to the entrance."

"Cool," Emerald said. "It sounds like you have everything."

"Not exactly," Malachite said. "I'd like to have something to protect the minerals to make sure no one steals them."

"I'd love to help, but I really have to figure this out," Emerald said. "Tell Mom and my brothers that I said hi."

"Alright," Malachite said.

Emerald untied Topaz to get her ready to go when she heard screaming coming from nearby houses. Without a second thought, she changed into her mysticon form and ran towards the noise. She froze when she saw what was happening.

The black fog from the dream was in the village. People were scrambling to get into the houses, and many of them were coughing violently. Everyone got into a building before Emerald could do anything, but she saw the black fog rolling towards her, and she knew her dad would be next.

She ran as quickly as she could back to the house. "Get inside! Quick!"

She saw her dad look confused for a second before his eyes widened. "Hurry!"

Emerald ran as quickly as she could to get her and her dad to shelter. She looked behind her, and noticed the fog was catching up.

She fell to the ground, and noticed a tree root sticking up from the ground. She couldn't believe that she tripped over a tree, especially during such an important mission. She looked behind her, and realized that she had no chance of escaping the fog.

"No!" Malachite exclaimed.

Emerald quickly put an energy field around her in an attempt to save her self. She smiled as she saw the fog go around the energy shield, but then realized that her dad was still in danger.

"I'm O.K!" Emerald called. "Just get inside the house!"

Malachite nodded and ran towards the house. She saw Topaz, untied from earlier but waiting for Emerald. "Go!" Emerald said. "I'll be fine!"

Emerald watched with relief as she saw her dad get inside safely and Topaz flying away from the town. She hoped that the griffin would go back to the stronghold, so Arkayna would know that something's happening.

She knew that her energy shield wouldn't last forever, and ran to the house. Luckily, Malachite seemed to read her mind, as he opened the door right as she reached the house. Emerald entered, careful to make sure that her energy shield blocked the door until her dad could close it. As soon as the door was closed, Emerald turned off her shield and went back to her normal form.

"Are you alright?" Malachite asked.

"Yeah," Emerald said. "Thanks for getting the door."

"You should tell the others what happened," Malachite said.

"You're right," Emerald said. She pulled out her phone, but noticed there was no signal. "The fog must be messing with my phone signal."

"Stay here until the fog clears," Malachite said. "I'll look for your mom and brothers."

Emerald shook her head. "I have my energy shield. I can use that to protect me."

"Are you sure it will last long enough?" Malachite asked. "I don't want you trapped out there."

"Don't worry," Emerald said. "I can keep my energy shield up for hours."

Malachite nodded. "You can use my cart to get around town. It should be faster than walking. Be careful."

"Don't worry, Dad," Emerald said. "I will."

With that, she went into her mysticon form, and Malachite opened the door for her as she was leaving. She hoped that she could hold onto her energy shield for long enough, and that her dad believed her.

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Meanwhile, Zarya went to Kitty Boon's ship. Zarya knew that since they travelled around the realm, they may have saw something. Kitty was on the deck, and she waved as Zarya boarded the ship.

"Hi, Z-Star," Kitty said. "What's up?"

"Hopefully nothing," Zarya said. "But have you seen anything strange lately?"

"Yeah," Kitty said, pointing to the ship in front of them. "People from that ship were unloading something, and they were all wearing face masks."

Zarya looked down, and noticed that she was at Rudick's hollow. "I bet Mysticon Knight saw something. I'll call her."

Before she could, she saw black fog coming into the air. "No!" Zarya exclaimed. She tried to call Emerald, but there was no answer.

"I have to go," Zarya said, changing to her mysticon form. Before Kitty could say something, Zarya hopped on Archer and took off. She stopped when she was as close to the town as she could be without being affected by the fog. "I'm coming, Em."


	5. Meeting up with Piper

**Sorry for the late update. I got around halfway through the chapter before realizing it wasn't going anywhere, so I restarted it.**

Arkayna ran as quickly as she could to the abandoned magic shop, checking her phone every couple of minutes. She hoped that Piper would text back, saying that she was fine.

As soon as she reached the magic shop, she checked her phone one last time. Piper didn't text back, and it was past the time that she said she would. _Calm down_ , Arkayna told herself. _Maybe she got out, but something distracted her from texting us. Or maybe she's fine, and it's just taking longer than she thought_.

She looked through the windows before breaking in. She wanted to know everything she could about what was going on, so she could figure out the best way to approach it. The first two windows shown no sign of the masked man or Piper, but the third one scared Arkayna.

Piper was bound to the wall by what looked like an energy field. She was struggling, and she occasionally looked at a strange machine that stood at the other end of the table.

Without hesitating, Arkayna quickly went into her mysticon form and used the staff to break the window open. She rushed in, using her foot to push herself through the opening so she didn't touch the glass with her bare hands. "Piper! Are you alright?"

"For now," Piper said. "But you have to stop the machine! In seven minutes, it'll release the black fog from out dreams!"

"So the fog's inside the machine?" Arkayna asked.

"Yeah," Piper said. "So we can't break it. If we do, then we might break the glass vial that's holding the fog."

"Do you know how to turn it off?" Arkayna asked.

"Why would Freaky Guy tell me?" Piper asked.

Arkayna looked at the machine, and then at the broken window. Seven minutes wasn't a lot of time. Even if she only focused on stopping the machine, it wasn't guaranteed that she would be able to stop it in time. And she couldn't just save Piper and get out of there. The fog would get into the town. The abandoned magic store would be a good place to contain the fog, but only if they found a way to cover the window.

She looked at Piper, who was wriggling free. She seemed to be getting out of there slowly.

"Do you think you can try to get out of there yourself while I find somewhere to contain the gas?" Arkayna asked.

Piper managed to pull one hand out from the energy field. "I'll be fine."

Arkayna grabbed the machine and ran down the stairs. She hoped to find something that she could use to stop the fog from going beyond the shop.

She noticed one room with a door. It might work, but she'd have to block the small openings around the door, or the smoke would just go through the small cracks. And if there was a vent or something, then she'd have to deal with that problem as well, or find another place.

She looked into the room and felt around until she found a small string. She pulled it, and light shone through the room, making it easier for her to see if the room would work.

It must have been her lucky day. There were no vents, and it must have been a cleaning closet, as there was a shelf practically full with rags.

Without wasting a second, Arkayna put the machine in the room and grabbed as many rags as she could. She closed the door and shoved the rags on the bottom and sides of the door, but found that she couldn't reach the top.

She didn't want to use her dragon staff. She wanted to be sure that that the rags were tightly packed behind the cracks, and using her dragon staff wouldn't allow her to make sure of that. Plus, she would want to be eye level with the rags to make sure there were no cracks. She knew one person who could find a way to be eye level with the top of the door. Of course, that would mean she'd have to be free.

Arkayna raced up the stairs as quickly as she could. Piper had just finished getting herself free from the energy shield.

"I told you I could do it," Piper said.

"Nice work," Arkayna said. "Come on. I found a room to block the fog, but I'll need your help to seal it."

"Lead the way," Piper said.

Arkayna led Piper to the room in the basement and pointed at the top of the door. "I have some rags to block it, but I can't make sure it's completely blocked. Can you get up there and finish blocking the door."

"Absolutely!" Piper said. She grabbed some of the thinner rags and jumped in the air, packing the rags in the spaces. As soon as she was done, they heard a noise from inside the room, and they both knew the fog machine went off.

Arkayna knew they should run, just in case it didn't hold, but fear froze her feet. She couldn't stop thinking about the dream. Piper seemed to feel it as well, as she hugged Arkayna tightly. Instead of trying to convince her to run, Arkayna hugged back, her eyes closed, and they stayed in that position for what seemed like hours.

"It worked," Arkayna said. "Piper, we're safe!"

"Yes!" Piper said, letting go of Arkayna. "The mysticons won this round!"

Arkayna smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. "Let's just hope we can keep this winning streak."

"How do you think the others are doing?" Piper asked.

"I don't know," Arkayna said. "I'll call them."

She was just about to call when her phone rang, and Zarya's name appeared on the screen. Arkayna answered it. "How's it going?"

"Well, I'm right outside Rudick's Hollow, where the black fog was released and I can't get a hold of Em," Zarya said. "So it could be going better."

"We'll be right there," Arkayna said. With that, she hung up and told Piper what was happening.

"We have to go," Piper said. "I just hope Em's alright."

"Me, to," Arkayna said.


	6. Where's Em?

**I know the ending isn't the best. I didn't know how to end the chapter.**

Zarya stood by the edge of Rudick's Hollow. She felt slightly dizzy from the fog, but she knew she'd be fine as long as she didn't come any closer. Of course, that meant that she wouldn't be able to make sure that Emerald was alright.

"Em!" Zarya called out. "Can you hear me?"

There was no answer, making Zarya sigh in frustration. She knew that it wasn't likely to work. If Emerald did get inside, which Zarya hoped was the case, then there would be no chance of her hearing Zarya.

She knew that Piper and Arkayna were alright at least. She called Arkayna, hoping to see if Piper was alright without seeming overly worried. Piper was fine, so Zarya just told them about Emerald's situation.

Zarya knew that she needed a plan. Arkayna and Piper were on their way, but they still had to get there. And even when they did, it's not like either of them would be able to walk into the fog.

She thought about her dream, hoping that something from there would help her figure out a plan. She remembered that some people held their breath while the fog came in the city, and they were fine for as long as they got inside before they had to take a breath.

 _This is crazy,_ Zarya thought to herself as she took a breath and ran into the fog. She looked around, hoping to find any sign of Emerald, but there was nothing. She only lasted around a minute before she felt the urge to take a breath beginning to overtake her.

She ran as fast as she could to the outskirts of the town, where the fog was lightest. As soon as she reached the outskirts of town, she sat on a nearby log and caught her breath.

"There's no… way I can keep this up," Zarya said between breaths. She couldn't go into the fog for long before needing to take a breath, and she was lucky she managed to get far enough away. The chances that she finds Emerald, or anyone in Rudick's Hollow for that matter, would be very slim. And even if she did, it would be hard to get anyone's attention with very limited time and being unable to open her mouth.

She looked around to make sure that no one could see her. She knew that Arkayna said to not go into their mysticon forms, but she had a plan, but needed her powers for it. Besides, it wasn't like breaking rules was a new idea to Zarya, and there were some times where she needed to do so.

She used her arrow and made an "E" with the string from it using two trees nearby. The fog would make it harder to see, and the small glow of the strings made by the arrows would make it at least slightly easier to see how to get out of the fog. And she thought that "E" would be the best shape. Even if Emerald didn't notice the light, then anyone still outside would be able to see the lighted sign and be able to see the string and assume that "E" stood for "Exit", which Zarya would want.

Zarya began walking, stopping every so often to make more "E"s on the trees. She didn't think she could circle the entire valley, but she had to try.

She had just finished the fifth sign when she heard a familiar voice say "Just a little more."

Zarya stopped dead in her tracks. She saw a shape coming relatively close to her. She wondered what it was, considering it didn't look like a person walking, like she expected. Still, she guessed that Emerald was close to there.

"Em!" She said, waving her arms. "Em! Over here!"

As the shape got closer, Zarya realized her mistake. Emerald was in a mine car, but so were her parents. Emerald was in her mysticon form, so calling her by her real name would make the parents suspicious. She knew that Emerald's dad knew she was a mysticon, but doubted that her mom knew.

 _Stay calm_ , she said as the mine car became closer. _Maybe I was far enough that no one heard_.

She waited nervously as the mine car stopped beside her, and Emerald and her parents got out.

Without a second thought, Zarya hugged Emerald. "Mysticon Knight! You're alright!"

"Did you call her 'Em' at first?" asked Citrine, Emerald's mom.

Zarya hesitated for a second. "I couldn't see her that well through the fog. I thought it was Em, but I guess it wasn't."

"Em isn't in the valley, is she?" Citrine asked, her eyes wide.

Malachite looked at Emerald. "I think it's time you tell her the truth."

Emerald changed into her normal form. "Hi, Mom."

"Em?" Citrine asked. "You were Mysticon Knight the whole time?"

"Yeah," Emerald said.

Citrine looked at Malachite. "And you knew?"

"I knew she wanted to keep it a secret," Malachite said.

Citrine looked back at Emerald. "So when you came for a visit and there was the incident at the mine, you were there?"

"And I'm guessing that your friends were the other mysticons, weren't they?" Malachite asked.

Zarya and Emerald looked at each other. Zarya didn't know if she should tell or not. They kept their identities secret for a reason, but Citrine was kind and welcoming to her and Piper.

"It's your choice," Emerald said.

Zarya turned back into her normal form. "Hi, Mrs. Goldenbraid,"

"I don't believe it," Citrine said. "Does that mean Piper and Princess Arkayna are mysticons to?"

"Yeah," Emerald said.

"They're not in the village, are they?" Malachite asked.

"I don't think so," Zarya said. "I told them what happened, and they're on their way, but they wouldn't go in without a plan."

As if on cue, Piper and Arkayna came on their griffins. Emerald and Zarya waved to get their attention, and Piper pointed them out to Arkayna. They both landed nearby.

As soon as they landed, Arkayna and Piper ran to hug Emerald, who hugged back. "You're O.K!" Arkayna said.

"Yeah," Emerald said. "Thanks to my dad's mine car and my energy shield."

"Though I did tell Mrs. Goldenbraid about who we really are," Zarya said.

"Oh." Arkayna said.

"I don't think it's a good idea to stay as a mysticon," Citrine said. "It's too dangerous."

Malachite put a hand on Citrine's shoulder. "I think being a mysticon is where Emerald belongs."

"Please, Mom," Emerald said. "Being a mysticon means the world to me."

Citrine sighed. "Please be careful. All of you."

Piper hugged Citrine. "Thank you!"

Citrine smiled. "You're Piper, aren't you?"

"How could you tell?" Piper asked.

"Do you know if this black fog is just affecting Rudick's Hollow?" Malachite asked.

"No," Arkayna said. "Whoever's doing this wants to affect Gemina. There was a close call at Drake City, and we believe there'll be one at Magi Mall."

"We'll figure out what we can do here," Citrine said. "You girls go save the rest of Gemina."

"Are you sure, Mrs. Goldenbraid?" Arkayna asked.

"I have my cart," Malachite said. "All we need is some way to block the fog, and we have a way to get people out. Besides, we looked through the town, and it seemed like most found their way inside."

"O,K, Dad," Emerald said. "Be careful."

"You to, Em," Malachite said.

"Come on, girls," Arkayna said. "It's time to go."

"Wait," Emerald said. "I let Topaz fly off to save her."

"Ms. Paisely's pretty strong," Piper said. "You can ride with me."

"Thanks, Piper," Emerald said.

With the team reunited, they took off. They knew they would be able to figure out where to go next, knowing that they were all fine.


End file.
